Up-ski towing device



Oct. 15, 1940. G. v. DONDERO 2,217,946

UF-SKI 'rowme DEVICE Filed May 12, 1939 I 705mm ATTORNEY mama s. 15, 1940 2,217,946

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

UP-SKI TOWING DEVICE George V. Dondero, San Francisco, Calif. Application May 12, 1939, Serial No. 273,277

4 Claims. (Cl. 104-202) This invention relates to an improvement in end the present invention contemplates the proup-ski towing apparatus and more particularly vision of a simple rope gripping device which to a new and novel form of tow rope gripping may be permanently secured in anon-rigid manmeans by which a skier can place himself in towner by a short tow cord to the body of a user 5 ing relation with a tow rope in a simple and and which is of such a construction that it will convenient manner. immediately disengage the up-ski towing rope im- A further object .of the invention is to provide mediately upon the release of a towing tension on a new and novel form of rope gripping means the tow cord and/or. in the event that the skier for the tow rope of an up-ski towing system in falls down or assumes a position with respect to which, after connection with the tow rope, the the tow rope other than a normal towing posi- 10 user's hands will be free and thus permit the tion. carrying and/or use of ski-poles in anormal man- In Patent No. 2,079,491, granted May 4; 1937, her. v to Theodore C. Cooke there is shown a rope grip- Another object of the invention is to provide a ping device having oppositely disposed and hook small, compact and simple grip forming device forming portions that are adapted when in use 15 for use with an up-ski tow line which can be to grip a tow rope with a kinking action. While conveniently and securely carried in an unobthis device, when properly used, effectively serves structing manner beneath the belt of a skier its purpose, it is open to the objection that it is when not in use. incapable of automatically releasing itself from Another object of the invention is to provide the tow rope when released and as a consequence 20 a tow-line gripping device which will effectively should the user for any reason lose his grip upon grip the tow rope when in its normal operating the device or find it impossible to impart thereto position and which will automatically become di'sthe definite forward movement required to release engaged from the tow rope when in an abnormal it from the tow rope, the device will be carried position, along with the tow rope and thus interfere with 25 In the early days of up-ski towing equipment the free passage of the tow rope about the sheave it was customary to provide nothing more than at the end of the tow line and thus interfere a tow rope which the skiers could grasp with with the successful operation of the system. As their hands. This arrangement however was distinguished from this prior device, the present 3 soon found objectionable for the reason that the invention provides an up-ski tow rope gripping rope often became wet or icy and hard to grip device that can be applied to a tow-rope in a with heavily mittened hands. Another serious simple manner and which is of such a character objection to this type of up-ski towing equipment that it will automatically release and fall from was that it required the use of both hands and the tow rope immediately upon the release of an .15 caused the skier to assume an unnatural posiexisting pressure thereupon without requiring any tion. It was also difficult for the skierto carry special releasing maneuver on the part of the other equipment, such as ski-poles, to the top of user. the hill and therefore at best it provided only For a better understanding .of the invention a difficult and tiring expedient. To remedy this reference should be had to the following descripsituation many complicated up-ski towing systion taken in connection with the accompanying 4o tems have been provided in which a chair or drawing, wherein there is shown by way of illuspermanently affixed sling or hook attached to the tration and not of limitation a preferred emboditow rope is used to carry or tow the skier to the ment thereof.

top of the hill. In these systems the skier is In the drawing;

. required to release himself or jump clear 'so as Figure 1 is aview showing the manner in which to permit the permanently affixed chair, hook or the invention is used by a skier upon a tow rope, slink to pass around or over a sheave at the up- Figure 2 is a plan view showing the device as per end of the tow line and thus proceed down applied to a tow rope, to the bottom of the hill for further use. These Figure 3 is an end view of the device shown in devices require considerable agility. on the part Figure 2, 50 of the users and often the use of an attendant Figure 4 is a side View of the device shown in to prevent injury to the skier. Therefore, it has Figure 2, become more and more desirable to provide a Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken simple arrangement for use with up-ski tow lines along line VV of Figure 4, and which can be used safely by a novice, To this Figure 6 is a fragmentary view showing the 55 rope gripping device attached to the body of the wearer and as it is carried during the downhill run.

In Figure l of the drawing the gripping device,'designated generally by the numeral ill, is shown as applied to a tow rope II that is moving in an uphill direction, as indicated by the arrow adjacentthereto. The gripping device I 0 has a short tow cord l2 that is preferably secured to a belt l3 worn by a skier here shown as upon skis I4. With this arrangement it will be seen that when the device I0 is thus in use with the ski-rope ii the arms of the skier will be free to use ski-poles IS in maintaining a proper direction of travel and balance.

As shown in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawing, when the gripping device I0 is constructed in accordance with the preferred form of the present invention, it comprises a rope spanning member or portion [6 having upstanding oppositely dis posed side portions or cars ll and I8 that in effect form a channel through which the tow rope II is adapted to extend. Extending outwardly to one side and at an angle at the forward end of the upstanding side port-ions l1 and i8 the member ID is provided with a lever arm I9 having an eye 20 to which the tow cord i2 is tied. With this arrangement, when a towing tension is placed upon the tow cord I2, the lever arm I9 will exert a canting action upon the rope spanning portion l6 of the device I0 and thus bring the oppositely disposed ends of the upstanding portions l1 and 18 thereof into gripping engagement with the tow rope II, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing. At this point it should be observed that the channel formed between the upstanding portions l1 and 18 of the grip forming member ID is such that the rope II will fit loostly therein. This permits the gripping device Hl to fall and thus become immediately disengaged from the tow rope I l whenever a towing tension is not maintained upon the tow cord I2.

In order to provide for a more positive gripping action between the opposed upstanding portions H and I8 and the rope II and also avoid the necessity for manually holding the gripping device ID upon the rope H during the starting and/or other periods of low tension upon the tow cord l2, as for example on a substantially level path, the upstanding portions [1 and [8 may if desired be provided with a slight undercutting 21 and 22 respectively at their trailing and forward edges, as is illustrated in Figures 3 and 5 of the drawing. This undercutting of the upstanding portions i1 and I8, however, is not of any such magnitude as to prevent a free falling away of the gripping device [0 from the tow rope II, as suggested above, whenever towing tension is removed from the tow cord 12.

While the device is illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawing with theskier on the left-hand side of the tow rope II and with the rope spanning portion [6 extending beneath the tow rope, it will be understood that the gripping device I!) is equally efi'eetive when the skier is on the righthand side of the tow rope II with the spanning portion l6 of the device [9 extending over the top of the rope. In other words, it is immaterial whether the gripping device IO engages the tow rope II from the bottom or the top side thereof as the weight and forward disposition of the lever arm 9 with respect to the leading edges of the rope engaging portions l1 and I8 effectively cooperate to form what may be termed a weighted lever which will tip the rope engaging portions I1 and I8 and thus disconnect the gripping device from the tow rope whenever the towing pressure is released therefrom or is applied in an abnormal direction.

As shown in Figure 6 of the drawing, it is contemplated that each skier will provide himself with his own gripping device Ill and therefore the device can be permanently attached to the skier. This is most conveniently accomplished by attaching the rear end of the tow cord 12 to a slidable band 23 through which a belt 24 worn by the skier may be passed. When the device I0 is thus attached to the belt of a skier it can be conveniently carried during the downhill run by inserting the tow rope engaging end thereof beneath the belt 24 in the manner shown with the arm I9 thereof held closely against the body of the skier and in a position where it will not interfere with the. free movement of the skier. A further advantage of this arrangement is that the device I0 cannot become misplaced or lost in the snow.

As a safety precaution it is also contemplated that the tow cord l2 may be of relatively light cord so that in the event of an excessive strain thereupon, due to any unforeseen obstruction in the path of the skier, it will break and thus permit the gripping device in to fall from the tow cord l2. Instead of having a fragile cord I2, it is also possible to obtain this advantage by providing a fragile or self-releasing connection between the tow cord l2 and the belt 24 of the wearer.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose my invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated a specific device and arrangement, I desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed. but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and it is desired to claim it so that all such changes.

as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be conidered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- '1. In a gripping device for up-ski towing systems, the combination of a grip forming member of U-shaped cross-section having its sides spaced to form an open channel for the reception of a tow rope, a lever forming arm extending laterally of the rope and from the forward end of said channel, said lever forming arm being disposed in line with the bottom of said channel and operable in a plane tangent to the surface of the tow rope when in use, and a tow cord carried by the free end of said lever adapted to form a non-rigid connection between the end of said lever and the body of a skier, whereby said grip forming member will be canted and kink said tow rope when a normal towing tension is exerted upon said tow cord and disengage said tow rope when other than a normal towing tension is exerted upon said tow cord. 2. A gripping device for up-ski towing systems. comprising a loose fitting grip forming member of U-shaped cross-section having its sides spaced to form a channel for the reception of a tow rope, a lever forming arm extending outwardly at an angle from the leading end of said channel, a tow cord carried by the outer end of said lever forming arm adapted to provide a nonrigid connection between the end of said lever and the body of a skier, said lever forming arm being disposed in line with the bottom of said channel and operable in a plane-tangent to the surface of the tow rope when in use, whereby the sides of said grip forming member will be canted into kinking relation with the tow rope when a normal tension is exerted through said tow cord and tipped out of gripping relation with the tow rope when other than a normal or no towing tension is exerted through said tow cord.

3. A gripping device for up-ski towing systems, comprising a grip forming member of U-shaped cross-section having its sides spaced to form a loose fitting channel for the reception of a tow rope, a lever forming arm extending outwardly at an angle from the leading end of said channel, a tow cord carried by the outer end of said lever forming arm adapted to provide a non-rigid connection between the end of said lever and the body of a skier, said lever forming arm being disposed in line with the bottom of said channel and operable in a plane tangent to the surface of the tow rope when in use, whereby the sides of said grip forming member will be canted into kinking engagement with the tow rope when a normal tension is exerted through said tow cord and when no towing tension is exerted through the tow cord said forwardly and outwardly extending arm will operate as an of! center weight and tip the sides of the grip forming member out of kinking relation with the tow rope.

4. A gripping device for up-ski towing systems, comprising a. rope spanning member having spaced side portions forming a loose fitting channel through which a tow rope is adapted to extend, a lever forming arm extending outwardly at a leading angle from the forward end of one of said side portions, and a tow cord carried by the outer end of said lever forming arm adapted to provide a. non-rigid connection between the end of said lever forming arm and a skier, said lever forming arm being located in line with the bottom of the rope receiving channel formed by saidspaced side portions and operable in a plane tangent to the surface of the tow rope when in use, the trailing end of the side portion adjacent said lever forming arm and the leading end of the other of said side portions being undercut to form a curved tow rope engaging surface at these points, whereby the oif center disposition of the lever forming arm with respect to the axis of the tow rope will not resuit in a displacement of the grip forming memher when a normal towing tension is exerted through said tow cord.

GEORGE V. DONDERO. 

